By Kerry Larsen

Illegal camping within the Douglas region is still far from being rectified with record numbers of campers being caught at the weekend and the number of complaints rising.

On Saturday night, 23 vehicles were found by Port Douglas Police parked illegally at various locations – the majority at Rex Smeal Park and numerous at Jalun Park, the Port Douglas boat ramp and Port Douglas Surf Club carparks, Four Mile Beach Park, Solander Boulevard and Mowbray Valley Road.

At 5pm on Monday, six camper vans had set up for the night at Rex Smeal Park, with another four at Four Mile Beach Park and numerous others searching for an elusive position.

Port Douglas Police Officer-in-charge Sergeant Damian Meadows said illegal campers were violating the right to residents’ peaceful existence and were creating a nuisance.

“Although these campers bring money into the local economy, the impact they have on the right to a peaceful existence is not good,” he said.

“For example, people who have paid millions of dollars for property at Solander Boulevard don’t want to be looking at illegal campers parked at the toilet block there.

“And the problem goes further. Littering becomes an issue, noise is created with van doors sliding open and closed constantly, and on Sunday morning, Rex Smeal Park smelled of urine.”

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Sergeant Meadows says while the Queensland Police Service didn’t have the legislative power to charge them with illegal camping, it was an offence under Council by-laws to camp illegally.

“Council officers work during office hours and aren’t going to be called out at 10 o’clock at night,” he said. “We’re currently trying to negotiate with Council to come up with a solution to the problems we’re currently experiencing.

“But it only costs about $10 a night for an unpowered site in a caravan park, and goodness knows our local businesses need as much revenue as they can at the moment.”

Meanwhile, caravan park operators are feeling the impact of a busy July school holiday period, with powered sites booked out well in advance.

Jean Seyffer, who is in Port Douglas on a temporary basis as co-manager of Tropic Breeze Caravan Park on Davidson Street, says she had turned away 20 campers on Monday due to unavailability of powered sites, but had a number of unpowered campsites left.

Mrs Seyffer said camping facilities fell well short of demand within Port Douglas, with the town’s three van parks and Dougies Backpackers struggling to keep up with the flow of visitors since the Four Mile Caravan Park closed in the early 2000s.

“You really do need another option in Port Douglas for campers, whether it’s another caravan park or an overflow arrangement,” she said.

“The amount of grey nomads (retirees traveling by motorhome or caravan) is growing and not everyone wants to book a hotel or apartment.”

Mrs Seyffer, who comes from Alice Springs, says that while many people came to Port Douglas for its good weather during the winter months, not all travelers were catered for.

“We would love to return here one day, but we know there’ll be no caravan park sites left in the tourist season, so we’ll know to stay away,” she said.

“The council really needs to consider another option, even if a toilet block was built at Reynolds Park and charged a few dollars per night.”